Raymond Stephens died about 6:30 p.m. Thursday after family members consented to having him disconnected from life support at Doctors Hospital, Athens-Clarke Assistant Police Chief Mark Wallace said Friday. Stephens suffered severe burns over 75 percent of his body when his son allegedly poured gasoline under a bathroom door and set it alight.

''It was a situation where ... he wasn't going to make it,'' Wallace said.

Stephens had been in intensive care since July 13, when police were called to his Robert Hardeman Road home and found a front bedroom on fire. Police later charged 56-year-old Alan Ray Stephens with aggravated battery, aggravated assault and arson in the alleged attack on his father.

District Attorney Ken Mauldin would not comment Friday on whether the state would seek murder indictments against Alan Stephens.

''I'll be meeting with detectives the first of the week to review evidence and decide what course of action to take,'' Mauldin said.

Alan Stephens allegedly hacked at his father's arm with a machete and fired shots at him through a bathroom door before pouring the contents of a gas can on the floor.

Alan Stephens is currently housed at Georgia Regional Hospital in Augusta, where he was transferred shortly after his arrest due to his mental state.

According to court documents, police received a 911 call from the Stephens home about 2:30 p.m. July 13. The elder Stephens reportedly told an operator he had been stabbed in the arm by his son and needed police to respond.

''Moments later, Raymond began yelling, saying that his son was shooting at him,'' Athens-Clarke Police Detective John Newton wrote in a July 13 affidavit for a search warrant application. ''Raymond said he locked himself in the bathroom, and his son was still in the house. Raymond said his son's name was Alan and that he is schizophrenic. The caller then said his son was shooting at him through the door. After a minute or so, sounds similar to that of a scuffle between the two individuals were heard, and then communication was lost.''

When police arrived they found Alan Stephens sitting on the front porch of the red brick home. He reportedly told police he had been in a fight with his father, who was inside.

Inside, police found Raymond Stephens badly burned with a gash to his arm. He was rushed to Athens Regional Medical Center and later airlifted to Doctors Hospital.

Alan Stephens dislocated both elbows in a struggle with arresting officers and was treated at a local hospital before being booked into the Clarke County jail. Four days later he was sent to Augusta for mental evaluation.

In a search of the Stephens home, police found a machete, a loaded Smith & Wesson .357-caliber revolver, shell casings and a gas can near the bathroom door.

Alan Stephens had no prior felony criminal record in Clarke County. Court documents said, however, that he had struggled with mental illness for the past 38 years.

This article published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, August 4, 2001.